1. Field of the Invention:
The instant invention relates to a combination carrier and binding system for a plurality of enlongated elements, and, more particularly, to a compact carrier for a pair of ski poles and skis which may be easily carried in the skier's pocket readily available for convenient use as needed.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
It is well known that skis and ski poles are elongated units which are cumbersome and difficult to conveniently transport when not being used. In order to overcome this troublesome problem and difficulty, a number of prior art ski and ski pole carriers have been suggested.
However, it would appear that such ski and ski poles carriers have not been generally accepted because they generally involve relatively complex procedures for engagement with and disengagement from the skis and ski poles, not retaining the ski poles in a suitably secured manner together with the skis, and having substantial bulk so as to be inconvenient to carry on the person when not in use.
Additionally, in order to properly secure the pair of skis as close as possible for convenient carrying purposes, chunks of snow and other debris must first be removed before the skis can be compactly bound together.
Additionally, none of the prior art devices provide a snow or debris scraping means for removal of snow and debris from the skis.
The ski equipment carrier disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,114,487 (Miller, et al.) (1963) includes a relatively large tubular frame A, with handle B, which may be grasped by one hand C of the user, and has two connectors D extending downwardly from the ends thereof. A pair of parallel J-shaped rigid members E are provided which act as a cradle to hold and support a pair of skis G which are held therein in a spaced-apart condition by the use of a block F. Closure straps are mounted to the frame A, at appropriate locations thereon, to captively hold a pair of skis G and ski poles H. Short lengths of rope or resilient bands serve as fasteners H to bind the ends of the skis G to both fasten the ends of the pair of skis G together and to provide the biasing force to press the skis G against the spacing block F. While this ski equipment carrier will function as claimed, it is too bulky to be conveniently carried by the user on the snow slopes. After the skis and ski poles are removed therefrom, the user must now locate a safe place in which to store his or her ski equipment carrier following its use. In essence, this literally means that the ski equipment user, after removing his skis, must now carry this unweldy ski equipment to the safe location where the ski equipment carrier is located. Not only is it bulky, it is costly to manufacture as well.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,486,672 (Esopi) (1969) relates to a ski-and-pole carrier wherein are provided a pair of separate holders each having relatively large loop means for snugly receiving the skis and relatively small loop means for snugly receiving the ski poles. Basically, this ski-and-pole carrier 10 depends upon the use of resiliently distensible construction, as by integrally molding from resilient plastic, rubber or other suitably elastic material. While this carrier is suitable for compactly carrying same on the ski user's person, a number of problems are posed by the use of this device:
(1) It must be constructed of resilient elastomeric material, such as plastic or rubber, which is not known for its elastic durability under extreme cold temperature conditions. PA0 (2) The carrier must be joined at 31 by a connection portion. Should this break, the carrier 10 will no longer function as a carrier. Elastomers are noted for their weakness under stretched conditions, and even more so under extreme cold. PA0 (3) The use of an over-center latching mechanism to lock the elements in place requires that the elastomeric substances be stretched as a condition for achieving lock-up to capture the ski equipment for carrying or transport. Use of an elastomeric substance is undesirable for use in cold, when stretched, because it is highly prone to catastrophic fracture under such conditions. PA0 (4) The use of the elastomeric substance in conjection with the metal rings 21, 26, 43 and 44 require that the rings be open at the ends embedded in the elastomeric material. Because of this, if the elastic material is overstretched or fails under load due to the extreme cold, the rings will either "pop" loose or because of the fracture, become disengaged therefrom and be rendered useless.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,173,811 (Kokeisl) (1979) relates to a ski-tie device which comprises a flat housing 1 from which an elastic band 3 can be withdrawn laterally to engage a similar device on another ski of the pair. Integral with the elastic band 3 is a pair of resilient strips 6 anchored in the housing 1 and the band 3 is provided with an abatement engageable with an abutment of the housing 1 to prevent excessive stretching of these strips 6 when the band 3 is withdrawn from the housing 1 and stretched. This device is rather complex in its construction and is disadvantaged by the use of elastic strips 6 and band 3 for the reasons hereinbefore discussed. This device is intended to always remain on the ski and not to be removed therefrom.
While not directed specifically to ski equipment carrying devices, the following U.S. patents are pertinent to the subject matter of the present invention in that each relates to fastener/buckle systems which are similar to that use by the ski equipment carrier presented and disclosed herein U.S. Pat. No. 867,518 (Mark), U.S. Pat. No. 1,023,639 (Graham), U.S. Pat. No. 2,835,015 (Emmins), U.S. Pat. No. 3,475,793 (Oetcker), and U.S. Pat. No. 4,453,290 (Riedel).
None of the ski equipment carriers found in the prior art and disclosed herein have been accepted by the ski-using enthusiast because of the disadvantages discussed herein as well as lacking the highly desirable additional features disclosed hereinafterwards offered by the present invention herein.